This section contains an overview of the most relevant events in Switzerland.
29 September 2026
The Surses (canton of Graubünden) is a valley where stories and history are captured in houses, façades, Grand Hotels and other premises. The valley lies along an ancient mountain pass. Anyone travelling through here is following in the footsteps of the Raetians and the Romans. That is why Romansh (Surmiran Idiom) is also spoken in … Read more » “Surses, Mulegns and the Weisse Turm in the running for an Oscar?”
16 September 2026
To mark the eighth Day of Multilingualism on 24 September, five videos feature members of parliament from Switzerland’s four language regions. They answer questions about the national languages and multilingualism in Switzerland. What do people remember most about their first encounter with another national language? What was the first resource they used to learn a … Read more » “Day of Multilingualism in Bern”
14 August 2026
The great humanist, theologian, writer and scholar Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536) is not only buried in Basel Cathedral, but his legacy will also be celebrated in Basel during the ‘Erasmus klingt! Festival – LAB’. It is an interdisciplinary festival that aims to highlight Erasmus’s influence on the sciences in the centuries that followed. From 6 … Read more » “Erasmus is back in Basel”
1 July 2026
The medieval Dance of Death was a familiar theme in Switzerland, southern Germany and France during the 14th and 15th centuries. Its emergence was influenced not only by the plague epidemics of the time but also by the orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans. The Dance of Death combined three medieval motifs: the dance motif, … Read more » “HAP Grieshaber and the Basel Dance of Death in Arlesheim”
17 June 2026
Although yodelling is also practised in other Alpine countries, it is in Switzerland that it reaches the highest musical standard in terms of the number of practitioners, the associations, the quality and the (modern) interpretations. The Swiss Federal Yodelling Festival in Basel In December 2025, UNESCO inscribed Swiss yodelling on the Representative List of the … Read more » “The Swiss Federal Yodelling Festival in Basel”
18 May 2026
On Tuesday, 14 April 2026, the Haegsche Tijd Foundation organised a gathering in The Hague to mark the birthday of Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695), the inventor of the balance spring. This foundation not only celebrates his birthday annually but is also preparing a major international event to mark the 400th anniversary of Christiaan Huygens’ birth in … Read more » “Frédérique Constant and Dutch watchmaking in Switzerland”
21 April 2026
On 19 April, the Collégiale (11th century) in St-Imier (canton of Bern) hosted a unique concert featuring more than 15 ‘serpents’. The serpent (nomen est omen) was invented in France in the 16th century. It was used to accompany Gregorian chants and other church hymns. The highlight of the concert was the duet between the … Read more » “Duet between the Serpent and the Saxophone in de Collégiale of St. Imier”
24 March 2026
What do Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) and Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) have in common? They admired, read, and studied the works of Johann Peter Hebel (1760–1826), despite not mastering the Alemannic dialect of Basel and Baden. Hebel was not just a local writer and poet (also in German) from Basel. He … Read more » “Johann Peter Hebel Commemorated in Basel”
14 March 2026
The Lyôbâle organisation has set itself the goal of filling the air along the Rhine in Basel with the beautiful sounds of the alphorn for 30 minutes once a year. To this end, groups of alphorn players line up on both banks of the Rhine, whilst soloists perform on the ferries. This marks the sixth … Read more » “Alphorn Poetry Lyôbâle on the Rhine”
28 February 2026
The Basler Fasnacht is over again. It is interesting for historians, however, to gain insight into the (international) politics and (regional and national) themes of the moment 100 years later. The lanterns and subjects (and the Schnitzelbängg) give an impression of what occupies people; they mirror the spirit of the times and society. Impressions of … Read more » “A Digital Museum of Basler Laternen”
